UESC/UESG

"...Unified Earth Space Council..."

Brian Blovett <bblovett@sdcc10.ucsd.edu> writes:

"In several places in your Marathon story site I notice the abbreviation UESG. Is this another name for the UESC?"

Brian raises an interesting point. The abbreviation UESC stands for the "Unified Earth Space Council" and first appears in the Marathon 1 manual:

With apprehension, the same apprehension you felt three hundred and
twenty-two years earlier, you envision Marcus Tiberius Buendia, one of
Sol's greatest leaders.  "Mankind will venture out past its earthly
bounds, and move into a future grander and more real than the total of
its own written history." Buendia, the president of the Unified Earth
Space Council, had spoken those words to the people of the Sol System
on the eve of the launching of the Marathon. "This, the grandest
achievement mankind has ever conceived will be for the purpose of
peace and the preservation of the human race.  May this great
technological ark carry with it the sum total of all human wisdom, and
may neither time nor distance weaken our common ties."

(Marathon 1 Manual Page 2)

Although the abbreviation UESC appears thoughout the computer interface terminals of Marathon 1 it is never given in expanded form.

On "The Rose" we are introduced to the UEG, the United Earth Government.

On January 6, 2345(Earth A.D.), at the United Earth Government
Misriah food distribution center, what had begun as
a commonplace food riot turned into a massacre.  The UEG riot
troopers who arrived at the scene had been informed that
the rioters were armed.  As the UEG troopers approached the scene
in their Randal Hovertank, plasma fire began spraying upwards.
In a flash decision, the commander of the Hovertank ordered
his crew to open fire upon the crowd. It took only five
seconds for over five hundred starving Martians to be
incinerated.

<The Rose (Terminal 2)>

The existence of both the Unified Earth Space Council and United Earth Government may be the reason why some people incorrectly refer to the UESC Marathon as the United Earth Space Council Marathon. Of course some might argue that "United" and "Unified" mean much the same thing and accuse me of 'splitting' semantics. Nevertheless Bungie refer to the Unified Earth Space Council and not the United Earth Space Council.

The abbreviation UESG features in the Lost Network Packets. Text provided by Bungie to account for the chronological discrepancies in Marathon 1.

This is the time line that I am going to give to him.
I can't verify some of the dates but I've done my best.
I don't understand why all of these dates are important
to Durandal, but he's threatened to isolate me with some
of those weird S'pht things if I don't do this.  Its bad
enough being the only human around, keeping company with
compilers for too long would make one mad.

2194- War between Icarus and Thermopylae.
2395- Purchase of Deimos from Free holders by UESG
2402- Doors Manual written up
2405- Marathon project begins pre-construction phase
2408- Deimos Conversion begins
2442- Misriah Massacre at food Riot
2465- Martians place munitions on Marathon
2466- Failed Martian Coup, MIDA controls government for
      short period.
2472- Launch of Marathon
2773- Marathon arrives at Tau Ceti
2787- Colony established
2794- Marathon attacked

(The Lost Network Packets)

It also appears in Marathon 2 on "Come and Take your Medicine".

Yet I warned Sol of its impending invasion,
and even stayed long enough to show the
UESG how to build Warp Capable Fusion
Missiles.  I feel some strange loyalty to
humanity.

<Come and Take your Medicine (Terminal 1: 1st message)>

In neither the Lost Network Packets or Marathon 2 is the UESG explained. One might hazard a guess and suggest that it means the Unified Earth Space Government or United Earth Space Government.

Of course one might equally argue that this is just another Story inconsistency much like the spelling of Bernard Strauss.

Angus McIntyre <angus@pobox.com> writes:

The final text in M2 refers to Durandal 'tying the Guard in knots' before folding into orbit around Earth. Is 'UESG' perhaps Unified Earth Space Guard?

Sean Phelps <my420life@aol.com> writes:

Could it be possible that the UESC is something like the United Nations is today? A group of representatives who form a NATO like military alliance but are not an individual government? That would allow the UESG to be the Earth's single governing body thus explaining the discrepancies of the names and dates relevant to the UESC and UESG.

Ben Charrow <bcharrow@ameritech.net> notes a third variation on the UESC theme. Ben writes:

I was wondering if you knew why on the Arthur Frane terminal in "You're Wormfood Dude" why he says, "USEC Marathon" instead of "UESC Marathon." Here's the terminal text:

I am Arther Frain, Chief Petty Officer, USEC 
Marathon.
Arther Frane calling all USEC personnel
Calling Cmdr. Robert Blake...
Calling Security Chief Jones...
Arther Frain calling any USEC controlled ship 
in vicinity...

Station hull breached, we are losing 
pressurization.  More than half the men are 
without vacuum suits.  Patrols reporting 
intruder, last location unknown.

Any USEC controlled ship surviving nova event, 
transport when ready.

Arther Frain calling.
That is all...

Do you have any idea why the change? Is this discussed anywhere on your page?

It is now. Should the title of this section be renamed UESC/UESG/USEC?

Concerning the above terminal just how many USEC controlled ships were at Lh'owon in 2811?

Justin Ancheta <jancheta@sprint.ca> writes concerning the reference to "USEC controlled" ships in the Arthur Frain/Frane terminal (above):

Here's a thought on your interesting question posed concerning the message from "You're Wormfood, Dude": the ships Arthur Frane refers to may not have been necessarily UESC controlled; they may have been just controlled by the humans originally from Durandal's ship. Or, it could be an alternate timeline you stumble upon where the UESC have come to Lh'owon for the same reason Durandal did in M2, to find a way to defeat the Pfhor. (Which is sort of reminiscent of the Halo plot...where the humans try to find some sort of way on Halo to defeat the Covenant.)